What is the difference between DeepSeek and Inception?

DeepSeek and Inception are both cloud GPU providers offering different pricing models, features, and GPU availability. Use our comparison tool to see real-time pricing and feature differences.

Which is cheaper: DeepSeek or Inception?

Pricing varies by GPU model and usage requirements. Check our real-time comparison table to find the best deals for your specific needs.

Can I switch between DeepSeek and Inception?

Yes, both providers offer flexible cloud GPU services. However, consider factors like data transfer costs, setup time, and specific features when switching between providers.

DeepSeek vs Inception

Compare LLM inference API pricing between DeepSeek and Inception. Find the best rates for AI training, inference, and ML workloads.

DeepSeek

Provider 1

Models Available

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Inception

Provider 2

Models Available

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Comparison Overview

Total LLM Models

DeepSeek Models

Inception Models

Direct Comparisons

LLM API Pricing Comparison

Total models: 4Both available: 0DeepSeek: 2Inception: 2

Showing 4 of 4 models

Prices per 1M tokens · Last updated: 11/12/2026, 9:31:51 AM

Model ↑	DeepSeek	Inception	Input Diff ↕
DeepSeek V4 Pro DeepSeek	$1.32 in $3.96 out	Not available	—
DeepSeek V4.1 Flash DeepSeek	$0.300 in $1.20 out	Not available	—
Mercury 2 Inception	Not available	$0.250 in $0.750 out	—
Mercury 3 Inception	Not available	$0.100 in $0.350 out	—

Features Comparison

DeepSeek

OpenAI and Anthropic formats
The same models are served on an OpenAI-compatible base URL and an Anthropic-compatible one
Thinking mode
Models support thinking and non-thinking modes selected per request
Context caching
Repeated prompt prefixes are billed at a cache-hit rate well below the cache-miss input rate
Off-peak pricing
Rates are halved outside the published weekday peak hours and on weekends
JSON output and tool calls
Structured JSON output, tool calling, chat prefix completion and FIM completion (beta)

Inception

Mercury chat models
Chat Completions endpoint for the Mercury models, with tool calling, structured outputs and selectable reasoning effort
Code completion and next-edit
Fill-in-the-middle and edit endpoints served by the Mercury Edit code model for IDE autocomplete
Mercury Decide
A decisions endpoint for classification, scoring and span extraction over shared context, returning calibrated probabilities
Mercury Voice
A model tuned for low time-to-first-token in real-time voice agents, enabled per organization through sales
Prompt caching
Cached input tokens are billed at a reduced rate
Integrations
Documented integrations for Cursor, Zed, VS Code extensions, LangChain and Vapi

Pros & Cons

DeepSeek

Advantages

First-party rates for DeepSeek's own models
Cache-hit input billed at a fraction of the cache-miss rate
Off-peak hours cut every rate in half
Compatible with OpenAI and Anthropic client libraries

Considerations

Only DeepSeek's own models are offered
Rates depend on time of day, which complicates cost forecasting
Per-account concurrency limits apply

Inception

Advantages

First-party access to the Mercury diffusion models
OpenAI-compatible API
Cached-input rates published per model
Also available through OpenRouter, AWS Bedrock and Azure Foundry

Considerations

Only Inception's own models are offered
Older Mercury models are closed to new users

Compute Services

DeepSeek

Inception

Pricing Options

DeepSeek

Per token, peak

Cache-hit input, cache-miss input and output billed per 1M tokens during weekday peak hours

Per token, off-peak

Half the peak rates at all other times

Inception

Per token

Input, cached input and output tokens billed per 1M

Enterprise

Dedicated capacity, private networking and custom terms through sales

Getting Started

DeepSeek

Get Started

1
Create an account
Sign up on the DeepSeek Platform and top up a balance
2
Create an API key
Generate a key in the platform's API keys page
3
Call the API
Point an OpenAI- or Anthropic-compatible client at api.deepseek.com

Inception

Get Started

1
Create an account
Sign up on the Inception Platform
2
Create an API key
Generate a key in the platform dashboard
3
Call the API
Send requests to api.inceptionlabs.ai with an OpenAI-compatible client or the Inception SDKs

Support & Global Availability

DeepSeek

Support

Documentation, API status page, and FAQ

Inception

Support

Documentation, email support, Discord community and enterprise sales